Stock Boeing Pelican, *HUGE AIRCRAFT*

[Kronus_Aerospace]

 

Huge thanks to @Azimech, whose incredible advice made this craft pososible.

 

This craft is a full stock, 1:1 scale replica of the Boeing Pelican Ultra, a cargo ekranoplan/aircraft. This Colossus would have carried massive amounts of military hardware long distances, primarily across the sea to maximize fuel efficiency. However, it never made it past the concept stage, and now only exists in the form of vague specifications and inconsistent artist renditions.

Having taken 5 months to complete, being composed of just under 3,000 parts, weighing in at 1.8 kiltons, with a wing span of 150 meters and being 120 meters in length, this craft is by far the largest and most ambitious project I have ever undertaken.

The craft is also full to the brim of stock mechanisms. It utilizes 4 of my T-4650 stock turboprops, which together produce nearly 19,000 kN of thrust. The craft’s entire nose section rotates upwards to reveal the cargo bay, this is made possible with what is perhaps the largest stock joint ever created. The joint in question is made up of an orange tank that is held within a fairing precisely tuned to its diameter. It also features a ramp, which is incredibly mundane by comparison.

All this work on to ensure that the craft could feasibly be used to transport payloads would have been for naught if the craft didn’t actually have any payload capabilities. Fortunately, this craft can easily carry payloads of well over 1000 tonnes, although it’s exact upper limit is as yet unknown.

To get this beast into the air, a huge number of hidden control surfaces are used. The center of lift is also placed in front of the center of mass to ensure that it flies nice and easily.

Download: https://kerbalx.com/Kronus_Aerospace/Kronus-Pelican-ULTRA   (<-- As well as additional screenshots)
Part Count: 2857

Irrelevant Information (AKA Gloating):
-You could play a full sized game of Football (Soccer) on this craft’s back across its wings.
-The cargo bay is so large that you could easily fit a 747 inside.
-With full payload this craft is both larger and heavier than the Saturn V.
-This craft produces 24 times the thrust of a 747.
-I think you get the point.

Edited October 23, 2018 by Kronus_Aerospace
Thread of the month, congrats :)

[RealKerbal3x]

 

That is a mahoosive plane.

What FPS SPF do you get?

[Kronus_Aerospace]

25 minutes ago, RealKerbal3x said:

 

That is a mahoosive plane.

What FPS SPF do you get?

I think it was somewhere around 2 SPF.

[roboslacker]

I remember seeing this in the WDYDTIKSP thread a few months ago. Nice to see that you got it to work.

[FleshJeb]

I can't tell if I'm deeply impressed by this, or worried about your sanity...

EDIT: NOW I notice your role text.

Edited September 17, 2018 by FleshJeb

[Deddly]

Amazing! Congrats on getting Thread of the Month! 

[sturmhauke]

I think my laptop would explode just trying to load that thing, nevermind flying it.

[Kernel Kraken]

I feel the framedrop coming on and I'm not even playing KSP, great job! Definitely much bigger than anything I've ever thought of building.

[Zosma Procyon]

On 9/16/2018 at 6:41 PM, Kronus_Aerospace said:

This craft is a full stock

Boulderdash. If that's stock, than what are those engines? And how did you make the propellers?

[sturmhauke]

Look up "stock turboprop". This one appears to be made from Big-S elevons, Wheesleys, landing gear bearings, and some other parts I can't identify.

Or, you know, download the craft file he provided and look at it yourself.

Edited October 23, 2018 by sturmhauke
Added stuff

[Kronus_Aerospace]

4 hours ago, Zosma Procyon said:

Boulderdash. If that's stock, than what are those engines? And how did you make the propellers?

https://kerbalx.com/Kronus_Aerospace/Kronus-T-4650-TurboProp

Stock turboprops my friend! They were the hardest part of this craft by far, as even the most powerful pre-existing stock props made by the likes of Azimech were horribly insufficient to power this beast. The Turboprops alone took 2 months to develop.

The prop blades were simply attached to the drive shaft and offset into place.

4 hours ago, sturmhauke said:

Look up "stock turboprop". This one appears to be made from Big-S elevons, Wheesleys, landing gear bearings, and some other parts I can't identify.

Actually these simply use Stayputnik bearings, I've never had much luck with landing gear bearings. Compared to other bearing types they don't seem to be very strong.

Edited October 23, 2018 by Kronus_Aerospace

[Zosma Procyon]

1 hour ago, Kronus_Aerospace said:

https://kerbalx.com/Kronus_Aerospace/Kronus-T-4650-TurboProp

Stock turboprops my friend! They were the hardest part of this craft by far, as even the most powerful pre-existing stock props made by the likes of Azimech were horribly insufficient to power this beast. The Turboprops alone took 2 months to develop.

The prop blades were simply attached to the drive shaft and offset into place.

Actually these simply use Stayputnik bearings, I've never had much luck with landing gear bearings. Compared to other bearing types they don't seem to be very strong.

What does "stock" actually mean in this context? I've always taken it to mean parts included with the game, not addons.

[Kronus_Aerospace]

1 hour ago, Zosma Procyon said:

What does "stock" actually mean in this context? I've always taken it to mean parts included with the game, not addons.

Ok. This craft was made with no mods, no add-ons, no nothing. All the parts are stock, built by stock means, with no part file editing or rescaling, none of that.

this craft is pure 100% stock, download it and you'll see.

Though I will note that it only functions with the unbreakable joints and infinite fuel cheats on.

Edited October 23, 2018 by Kronus_Aerospace

[sturmhauke]

I've made stock propellers and turboprops, although certainly nothing approaching this scale. Enough to appreciate how much work went into it, at least.

Claiming that mods must have been used just because you don't understand what you're looking at is a little disrespectful, in my opinion.

[Zosma Procyon]

5 minutes ago, sturmhauke said:

I've made stock propellers and turboprops, although certainly nothing approaching this scale. Enough to appreciate how much work went into it, at least.

Claiming that mods must have been used just because you don't understand what you're looking at is a little disrespectful, in my opinion.

Do you have any workable electric fan engines?

[sturmhauke]

6 minutes ago, Zosma Procyon said:

Do you have any workable electric fan engines?

My engines are based on @SuperHappySquid's design. Example: Burya twin prop plane

I'd suggest you download a stock prop and examine it in game. The basic idea is you have reaction wheels, a probe core, and RTGs inside a bearing, with blades attached to a central axle, which in turn is attached to the aircraft with a docking port or decoupler. To fly, you decouple the prop assembly, which then becomes a separate craft contained by the bearing. Switch to the prop "craft" and use roll trim (Alt-Q or Alt-E, depending on your blade pitch) to spin the propeller.

Turboprops replace the reaction wheels etc. with a circle of jet engines, positioned on the main aircraft so that they blow exhaust onto the blades and cause them to spin. They're a bit harder to build (as if electrics weren't hard enough), and generally have lower top speed, but are good for heavy payloads and can also be throttle controlled since they use jet engines.

It's not at all intuitive, and it took me a solid month or so before I could get a basic electric prop working.

[Zosma Procyon]

8 minutes ago, sturmhauke said:

My engines are based on @SuperHappySquid's design. Example: Burya twin prop plane

I'd suggest you download a stock prop and examine it in game. The basic idea is you have reaction wheels, a probe core, and RTGs inside a bearing, with blades attached to a central axle, which in turn is attached to the aircraft with a docking port or decoupler. To fly, you decouple the prop assembly, which then becomes a separate craft contained by the bearing. Switch to the prop "craft" and use roll trim (Alt-Q or Alt-E, depending on your blade pitch) to spin the propeller.

Turboprops replace the reaction wheels etc. with a circle of jet engines, positioned on the main aircraft so that they blow exhaust onto the blades and cause them to spin. They're a bit harder to build (as if electrics weren't hard enough), and generally have lower top speed, but are good for heavy payloads and can also be throttle controlled since they use jet engines.

It's not at all intuitive, and it took me a solid month or so before I could get a basic electric prop working.

I'm trying to develop an electric engine for use on Eve. No oxygen. And I'd prefer the prop and main craft remain a single part. I think this can be done with docking ports.

[Chel]

Look at the size of that thing!

[sturmhauke]

3 minutes ago, Zosma Procyon said:

And I'd prefer the prop and main craft remain a single part. I think this can be done with docking ports.

That's not how stock props work. You can't make a spinning propeller that also remains directly attached to the aircraft, unless you just spin the entire thing. People have done that for funsies, but it's not very controllable.

If you want a prop (whether electric or gas-powered) that doesn't require craft juggling shenanigans, you'll need a mod. Airplanes Plus and Near Future Aeronautics have some, for instance.

[Servo]

8 minutes ago, Zosma Procyon said:

I'm trying to develop an electric engine for use on Eve. No oxygen. And I'd prefer the prop and main craft remain a single part. I think this can be done with docking ports.

 

Just now, sturmhauke said:

That's not how stock props work. You can't make a spinning propeller that also remains directly attached to the aircraft, unless you just spin the entire thing. 

Look into K.L.A.W engines if you want them to be one part. That precludes SAS bearings, but it can be done with engine blowers iirc. Of course, that eliminates the main advantage of making propellor craft (using RTGs to power SAS wheels indefinitely, that is).

[Zosma Procyon]

2 minutes ago, sturmhauke said:

That's not how stock props work. You can't make a spinning propeller that also remains directly attached to the aircraft, unless you just spin the entire thing. People have done that for funsies, but it's not very controllable.

If you want a prop (whether electric or gas-powered) that doesn't require craft juggling shenanigans, you'll need a mod. Airplanes Plus and Near Future Aeronautics have some, for instance.

Didn't we used to be able to rotate craft connected by docking ports?

[sturmhauke]

7 minutes ago, Zosma Procyon said:

Didn't we used to be able to rotate craft connected by docking ports?

Not regular ports, although apparently this Klaw method that @Servo mentioned used to be a thing. I haven't heard of that before though.

[Zosma Procyon]

19 minutes ago, sturmhauke said:

Not regular ports, although apparently this Klaw method that @Servo mentioned used to be a thing. I haven't heard of that before though.

Oh well, my dreams are dashed.

[Kronus_Aerospace]

Just to be clear, I really don't mind people being skeptical about my craft actually being stock. If anything, I see it as a compliment.

Healthy skepticism is to be expected in a community that values merit as highly as the KSP community does. Ain't nothing wrong with that!

Edited October 24, 2018 by Kronus_Aerospace

[Chel]

@Kronus_Aerospace, I'd like to see your attempt at a 1:1 Death Star.